I've been trying to find a retailer who stocks the Panasonic Blu-Ray players in Hong Kong. But all the major retailers (Fortress, Broadway et al) only stock the (ridiculously) expensive Pioneer, the (below) average Sony and the (decent... but 1.0) Samsung 1400 models.

I'm new to Hong Kong; and was wondering if anyone else new any (probably) high-end A/V retailers or anyone that stocks the Panasonic DMP-30K or any other brand?

If you're looking to find US prices for these players in HK, think again. I'm not being helpful because I don't live in HK and don't know where you could get them, but over HERE the BD standalones sold are at LEAST US$300 more than the 80GB PS3 - that's US$799. I suspect that within the Asian region of Region A, only Japan would have reasonable prices.

If you are serious about watching movies in HD, my suggestion is get a PS3 now (80GB if you can find it) and either trade it in later when the Panny arrives in HK or give it to relatives.

Sony is not below average, IMO. PS3 is one of the best blu-ray players. It delivers an awesome picture for good quality blu-ray movies. In the negative side, it has some audio limitation (that I don't care).

Sony is not below average, IMO. PS3 is one of the best blu-ray players. It delivers an awesome picture for good quality blu-ray movies. In the negative side, it has some audio limitation (that I don't care).

i don't think he was saying the ps3 is below average, but the sony BD stand-alone models are. and yes sony is below average in many consumer electronic products now IMO. they are just not the same company they used to be. so, i'll save my money and buy a samsung or panny, etc and have my hard earned dollar go farther.

When the Panasonic BD30 is out, you'll very likely find it in Sogo, right above Causeway Bay MTR. In one of the top floors, half of it is devoted to Panasonic products.

Comparing HK prices to the US isn't really appropriate. The models are more like European ones, with 50/60Hz (PAL/NTSC) support, which you don't find in US models. The HK Sony S300 was about the equivalent of US$600 when I was there a few months ago. The 40GB PS3 is cheaper than the US model.

Prices are in general lower in MongKok, if you're brave enough to venture out there.

If you are not into gaming, as Post #1 says, I would still consider a PS3 (40GB model, the least expensive model) as the PS3 is the only Profile 2.0 BD player currently available and as of next week will have support for the only missing audio format allowed on BD (decoding of DTS HD-MA is being added via firmware update version 2.30 on April 15th). The only real limitation it has is that its HDMI hardware will not allow it to bitstream the advanced audio formats to your AV receiver (AVR). Rather it internally decodes the advanced audio and sents this to your AVR as uncompressed Linear PCM, providing essentially the same results in terms of audio quality, and it doesn't require you to have one of the latest AVRs that has the internal decoding for the advanced audio formats. I have both a 40GB and a 60GB PS3 and use each in home theaters for BD playback and they works very well. There is no advantage of getting a the 80GB version of the PS3 in the context of a BD player and the 40GB version tends to run cooler and has less fan noise. I do recommend you also get the Sony Bluetooth BD/DVD remote for the PS3 and with that its no more or less convient to use than any standalone BD or DVD player, although the initial setup takes longer than for a typical DVD player. Nyko also makes a low-cost IR BD/DVD remote for use with the PS3, but it is not as full featured as the Sony BT remote, but it can be useful it you want to use a universal IR remote for controlling you PS3 along with your other home theater components.

When the Panasonic BD30 is out, you'll very likely find it in Sogo, right above Causeway Bay MTR. In one of the top floors, half of it is devoted to Panasonic products.

Comparing HK prices to the US isn't really appropriate. The models are more like European ones, with 50/60Hz (PAL/NTSC) support, which you don't find in US models. The HK Sony S300 was about the equivalent of US$600 when I was there a few months ago. The 40GB PS3 is cheaper than the US model.

Prices are in general lower in MongKok, if you're brave enough to venture out there.

It's on 10/F of Sogo.

I read the S350&S550 are coming in June. So you may want to consider that too. However, PS3 will be relasing a new firmware that it can decode DTS-HD MA internally. I am not sure this is what you want.

I myself are searching for a good blu-ray player just like you. But HK is so slow in Blu-ray player and TV. Maybe you can go to "BEST", the electronic shop at Magabox, Kowloon Bay.

I am not sure wheather I should wait for the sony or just get the ps3, but the ps3 can't bitstream the codec thru, otherwise, it almost perfect!!!

I'm not too bothered about the audio formats as of now, as I plan to hook up the Blu-Ray player to my BOSE 3-2-1 system (optical/coax)... which can't decode external DTS streams. So if the PS3 does (all) the decoding & spits out a PCM stream... that sounds good to me.

I don't plan to invest in a great AVR now as... frankly... apartments in Hong Kong are ridiculously tiny.

So considering that I'm not into gaming and just wanna enjoy movies in HD with anything my BOSE understands... a PS3 sounds good.

I'm not too bothered about the audio formats as of now, as I plan to hook up the Blu-Ray player to my BOSE 3-2-1 system (optical/coax)... which can't decode external DTS streams. So if the PS3 does (all) the decoding & spits out a PCM stream... that sounds good to me.

I don't plan to invest in a great AVR now as... frankly... apartments in Hong Kong are ridiculously tiny.

So considering that I'm not into gaming and just wanna enjoy movies in HD with anything my BOSE understands... a PS3 sounds good.

Any advantage of a PS3 with a bigger HDD in it?

-A

Well, you will get used to the size of the apartment. Are you living in a 900 sq feet? As I am a local person, this is quite a good size for family.

Since we are talking about Asia, my dad lives in India and in going to Malaysia and Singapore on a business trip. Since India is Region C, he cannot play majority of my collection. Do the players in Malaysia/Singapore play Region A BD? If so, how much do they cost?

Since we are talking about Asia, my dad lives in India and in going to Malaysia and Singapore on a business trip. Since India is Region C, he cannot play majority of my collection. Do the players in Malaysia/Singapore play Region A BD? If so, how much do they cost?

South East Asia and Japan are part of the Region A of BD. So a PS3 from this region is safe.

I believe the costs of the PS3s are the same. HOWEVER, the PS3s available now are the 40GBs. So if your dad likes to show pix from his digital camera, he should wait when the 80GB is back in the stores.